Romney speaks up for sons' decisions — BETTENDORF, Iowa - Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Wednesday defended his five sons' decision not to enlist in the military, saying they're showing their support for the country by "helping me get elected."

Quote Of The Day II … — Mitt Romney, explaining today why it's okay that none of his five sons enlisted in the military. — America thanks you, sons of Romney, for your brave and noble sacrifice on behalf of this great nation.

If You Were a Terrorist, How Would You Attack? — The TSA recently announced that most airplane carry-on restrictions will stay in place for at least another year, until new X-ray technology has been fully installed. Surprisingly, one item that will now be permitted on board is a lighter.

Iraq Timeline: The Broken Record on "the Next Few Months" — The Bush administration as well as supporters and some critics of the Bush Iraq strategy have told Americans time and again during the past four years that the "next few months" in Iraq will be the "decisive, critical period" …

Airman Who Alleged Rape Faces Court-Martial — She Ties Her Prosecution to Refusal to Testify Against Airmen She Says Attacked Her — A female airman says she faces a court-martial next month because she refused to testify against three male airmen she accused of rape.

Sources: Republicans will vote Jan. 19 — S.C. Republican Party chairman Katon Dawson is expected to announce Thursday that the 2008 S.C. presidential primary will be Jan. 19, sources close to the party and campaigns told The State. — Dawson will be in Concord, N.H., on Thursday …

Ho-Hum: Yet Another False Media-Reported Massacre In Iraq — On Sunday, Reuters reported that the scene of a large massacre had been discovered near Baquba: … Why did the police have such a hard time providing an indication of how the 60 people had been killed? Probably because there were no bodies to examine.

DAILY KOS CO-AUTHOR FINED $30K FOR UNETHICAL STOCK TOUT — Prominent liberal blogger Jerome Armstrong has agreed to pay nearly $30,000 in fines in a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations that Armstrong touted the stock of a software company …

Bedeviled by faith — Rudy dodges questions about whether he's a 'good Catholic' — Rudy Giuliani may be trying to woo religious conservatives, but the former mayor all but took an oath of silence yesterday when asked if he was a practicing Catholic. — "My religious affiliation …

The foreign policy community — If you haven't already read it, I highly recommend this memo from Samantha Powers, a Harvard Professor and top foreign policy advisor to Barack Obama. It is one of the best and potentially most important political documents I have read in some time.

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